News about agriculture in New York State and information farmers and consumers can use in their daily lives.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

New York State Commemorates 20 Years of Farmland Protection

On June 28, state Sen. Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman William Magee announced
the recent passage of a Joint Resolution of the New York State Senate
and Assembly commemorating the 20th Anniversary of New York
State’s Farmland Protection
Program.

Over the last two decades the state’s Farmland Protection
Implementation Grants program has provided $140,306,211 to
permanently protect 59,150 acres of farmland on 222 farms in 29 counties
across New York.

“When it comes to our state’s agriculture industry, available farmland
that’s ready for cultivation is one of our most important resources,”
said Ritchie, who is chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“New York
state’s Farmland Protection Program has played
a key role in safeguarding our farmland, helping to ensure our
hardworking farmers have access to undeveloped property, which they can
use grow the fresh foods we rely on," she said. "I’ve been proud to advocate for
farmland protection, and am looking forward to continuing
our efforts to make sure our farmers have the land they need to feed
the people of our state, and beyond.”

“As the average age of our
farmers increases, so does our obligation to protect the farmland of the
state by preserving it for agricultural uses,” said Magee, chair of the Assembly Agriculture
Committee. “Over the past 20 years, the Farmland Protection Program has
been successful in establishing the permanent protection of over 59,000
acres of farmland."

"Keeping farmland in production benefits every New
Yorker with access to fresh, local farm products, providing
sustenance for generations to come, and helping to preserve our way
of life in Upstate New York,” he said.

Farmland lies at the foundation of New York’s $39 billion farm and food
economy and is a key resource in producing fresh, healthy foods grown
from local farms. Yet, New York state has lost nearly 500,000
acres of farmland to real estate development since
the 1980s – paving over an area equivalent to about 5,000 farms or 3
farms a week for the past 30 years. New research from American Farmland
Trust (AFT) has also shown that nearly 30 percent of New York’s farmers
are over 65, suggesting that approximately
2 million acres of farmland will change hands in coming years.

Since 1996, New York state has awarded farmland protection money for the purchase of
permanent agricultural conservation easements on farmland. Such deed
restrictions enable farms to remain in private ownership but ensures
that the land will always be kept available for farming.
Currently, funding for FPIG is allocated from the state’s Environmental
Protection Fund.

In 2015-2016, $35 million was allocated to farmland protection in
the state budget – the most in the state’s history and the fourth
largest annual state funding for protecting farmland in America. In 2016-2017, a record appropriation of $300
million for the Environmental Protection Fund included $20 million in funds for the Farmland
Protection Program, an increase of $5 million over the previous year.